


Norbert

by flawedamythyst



Series: The Elephant In The Room [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-18
Updated: 2011-08-18
Packaged: 2017-10-22 18:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/241244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/pseuds/flawedamythyst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU of one of the scenes of Improbable Reality, as experienced by the elephant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Norbert

Norbert's mother was pretty lenient, as parents went. Beyond the occasional 'don't wander off and get eaten by lions' she never forbade him from doing anything, so when he reached out for an interesting-looking plant with his trunk and got a sharp reprimand of, “Don't eat that!”, he was intrigued.

She refused to offer any explanation, so the very first chance he had, he crept away from her and Gilly, back to where he'd seen the plant. He carefully sniffed it with his trunk but there didn't seem to be anything off about it, so he pulled it up and ate it. It tasted pretty dull really, nothing to get excited about, so he mentally shrugged and set off back to where he'd left his family.

Somehow, he never got there. The plain seemed to tilt oddly as he walked, directions and angles mixing up until he wasn't entirely sure where the sky was, let alone where he should be headed. He stopped, looking around him slowly, wondering what to do. Surely he'd have noticed a stand of upside-down trees earlier? And why was the grass mauve? It should be green, it had always been green before.

He blinked hard, trying to fix the world back into some sort of logical order, but that only made things horribly, unspeakable worse. When he opened them again, he was suddenly inside somewhere small and dark, but not a cave, somewhere cluttered with all kinds of unknown objects, things he had no concept of even existing.

He froze, feeling his eyes go wide with panic. Oh god, oh god, where was he, what was going on, where was his mum, or Gilly, or _anyone_ who could get him out here and back to the plain?

It took him a while to realise he wasn't alone in the not-a-cave. There was a movement to his left and he swung his head to see a human staring at him, his eyes almost as wide as Norbert's felt. Oh god, he was going to be in trouble for being in the wrong place. His mum had told him that wandering into human areas caused trouble – they were fiercely territorial, even more so than hippos. This must be one of their dens. How had he ended up here? And, more worryingly, what were they going to do to him in retribution?

The human didn't do anything, though. It just sat and stared at him for a very, very long time, long enough that Norbert's mum was going to be worried about him, and then she'd scold him, and Gilly would be all stern and disapproving. As if she had any right to be; she was his sister, not a second mother.

The human finally moved, but only to glance across at the wall of the den before his eyes returned to Norbert. Being the object of such scrutiny was beginning to make Norbert feel very self-conscious and he shuffled his feet, wishing he had the slightest idea how to get out and back to the plains.

The human said something unintelligible and Norbert really hoped that it wasn't expecting him to be able to answer. There was a sudden movement to his left and he looked around to see that there was another of them. How long had he been lurking there? Why did humans have to wear things that blended in with their oddly coloured walls? Sneaky gits.

The humans exchanged comments for a while and Norbert gave up listening when it became clear that he was never going to be able to understand Human. It was a horrible language, fast and high and full of painful-sounding noises.

The first human, the small one, waved an arm to Norbert's right. Norbert followed his gesture to see two large openings looking out on the familiar sights of the plains. Where had they come from? They hadn't been there before, he was sure of it. For the first time he started to wonder if all was really as it seemed. He trotted towards the openings but was forced to stop when he realised there was an semi-invisible forcefield of some kind preventing him from leaving. He felt it out carefully with his trunk, flinching away from how cold it was.

He looked back at the first human, hoping he'd be able to read something in Norbert's gaze and would let him out. This was their den, after all, he must be able to turn off the forcefield. The human just looked at him for a moment, then away at the other human, continuing their conversation. Why were they keeping him captive here? What could they possibly want with one rather young elephant who wasn't even a particularly bright red?

Norbert felt panic begin to rise up in him and firmly pushed it back down again. The plains were right in front of him, he just had to hope that Mum or Gilly would come and find him. He tapped on the forcefield again, wishing he could speak giraffe so that he could ask the near-by herd for help. They probably wouldn't have done anything any way – giraffes were pretty stand-offish.

There was a familiar, worried bugle call and Norbert turned sharply to see his mum heading for him, emerging from a stand of trees at a trot. It was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen, and he raised his trunk up in greeting.

“Norbert!” she trumpeted as she came closer. “Where have you been? What are you doing? We've been looking everywhere!”

“They won't let me out,” protested Norbert, pressing against the forcefield.

She levelled a puzzled gaze at him. “Who won't?”

“The humans,” said Norbert, gesturing back into the den. “Please, mum, let me out.”

She frowned at him, then her face abruptly lightened. “You ate that plant, didn't you?” she asked.

Norbert hesitated, trying to gauge just how much trouble he was in. “Maybe,” he hedged.

She sighed. “Oh, Norbert,” she said. “There are no humans. That plant makes you see things that aren't real.”

Norbert frowned. “Then why can't I get out?” he asked plaintively.

“You're in a bush,” she said patiently. She lifted something that Norbert couldn't really see away, and just like that the forcefield swung open and he was able to step out onto the plains. As soon as he was clear of it, he turned back to find that she was right. Instead of the den he'd been trapped in, there was just a large tangle of bushes, now showing distinct signs of having been trampled by a small elephant.

“There was a human den here,” he protested. “Two humans – one of them was staring at me for ages.”

“Oh Norbert,” said his mum tiredly, curling her trunk over his head with affection. “Maybe next time you'll listen to me when I tell you not to eat something.”

Yes, thought Norbert, following her as she set off towards where he could see Gilly in the distance. He probably would.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cover Art: Norbert](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167706) by [Trishkafibble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trishkafibble/pseuds/Trishkafibble)
  * [(PODFIC) Norbert by flawedamythyst](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9957599) by [AvidReaderLady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvidReaderLady/pseuds/AvidReaderLady)




End file.
